Second City derby

Second City Derby
Other names Birmingham Derby
Locale Birmingham
Teams Aston Villa
Birmingham City
First meeting 27 September 1879
Latest meeting 22 September 2015
Aston Villa 1–0 Birmingham
Statistics
Most wins Aston Villa (52)
Top scorer Billy Walker (11)
All-time series Aston Villa: 52
Drawn: 31
Birmingham City: 38
Largest victory Aston Villa 6–0 Birmingham (1988)

In English football, the Second City Derby[1] or Birmingham Derby, is the local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Birmingham, England Aston Villa and Birmingham City. It is known as the Second City Derby based on Birmingham historically being referred to as the Second city of the United Kingdom. The two clubs are generally regarded as each other's most fierce rivals, even though they are currently in different divisions.

History

All-Time League positions of Aston Villa and Birmingham City within the Football League

The clubs first met on 27 September 1879, when Birmingham City were called Small Heath Alliance. The game, on a pitch at Small Heath's Muntz Street ground described by the Villa players as "only suitable for pot-holing",[2] finished 10 recorded as "one goal and a disputed goal to nil"[3] to the home side.[4] Villa won the first competitive game between the clubs, in the Second Round of the FA Cup at Wellington Road in 1887, by four goals to nil,[5] and their first league encounter, in the First Division in the 1894–95 season, 21.[6]

The two teams have engaged in several hotly contested matches. In the 1925 league game at Villa Park, with the home side 30 ahead with eleven minutes to go, Blues scored three times in a dramatic final spell to draw the match.[7] The following year, Aston Villa made headlines with the signing of Tom 'Pongo' Waring, and his first appearance was for the reserves against Birmingham City's reserves, which famously drew a crowd of 23,000. Waring scored three times in the match.

The most significant clash was the final of the 1963 League Cup, which was staged not long after Aston Villa had beaten Birmingham City 40 in the league. Blues won 31 on aggregate over the two-legged final to claim their first major domestic honour.[8]

During the late 1970s to early 1980s both Villa and Blues met regularly in the First Division and both teams had some memorable successes in the fixture. In 1980-81 Villa did the double over Blues and went on to win the First Division title. Blues scored a memorable 3-0 victory at St Andrew's in the first meeting following Villa's European Cup triumph in 1982. Both teams promptly went into decline. Blues racked up a 3-0 win in a relegation battle at Villa Park in March 1986 but were relegated at the end of that season. Villa would be demoted the following campaign. The next time Villa met Blues in a league fixture at Villa Park again was in the Second Division and saw a 21 Blues victory. The reverse fixture at St Andrew's was a 2-1 Villa victory with both goals coming from Garry Thompson. The two sides would only meet again in the 1980s in cup competitions. Villa won 7-0 on aggregrate when they clashed twice in the 1988-89 League Cup. The same season Villa also won a Full Members Cup clash 6-0.

The Premier League Era

Following the creation of the Premier League, Aston Villa and Birmingham City met twice in the Second Round of the 1993-94 League Cup. Villa won both matches 1–0. The game at St Andrew's was settled by a Kevin Richardson goal after his keeper Mark Bosnich had saved a penalty from John Frain to keep the game at 0–0. The second leg at Villa Park was notable for a winning goal from Villa's Dean Saunders and a red card for Blues' Paul Tait. Villa went on to win the trophy.

Blues' promotion to the Premier League in 2002 saw fans eagerly anticipating the first league derbies in 15 years. Blues won both derbies 30 and 20, respectively. Both matches saw goalkeeping errors by Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman, including a goal scored directly from an Olof Mellberg throw-in. Violence between both sets of fans occurred before both matches as evening kick-off times had allowed fans to get drunk over the course of the day. In March 2003, during the game at Villa Park, two Villa players were sent off, Dion Dublin for a head-butt on Blues' Robbie Savage and Joey Guðjónsson for a reckless two-footed tackle on Matthew Upson. Trouble also took place following the game on Witton Lane outside Villa Park, where missiles were hurled at police who were attempting to keep both sets of fans apart.

The 200304 Premiership season saw games ending in 00 and 22 draws. The 2–2 draw saw Blues recover a two-goal deficit thanks to a 90th minute equalizer from Stern John. Both games were lunchtime kick-offs to avoid drunken behaviour, which was achieved although the games lost none of their passionate edge. The following season Blues got back to winning ways, with 21 victory at Villa Park just before Christmas and 20 at home in March, Villa keeper Thomas Sørensen making mistakes in both matches, though it's debatable if his errors directly affected the respective results. In the 200506 Premiership Season, Villa finally beat Blues in the Premiership, thanks to a Kevin Phillips goal. This was followed up by another Villa victory on 16 April 2006, Easter Sunday, with Aston Villa winning 3–1 thanks to two goals from Milan Baroš and a bicycle kick from Gary Cahill. Blues were relegated in 2006 but subsequently promoted in 2007. In November 2007, Villa won their third consecutive derby match with a 21 victory at St Andrew's. Former Villa defender Liam Ridgewell scored an own goal to put Villa 1–0 up, Blues equalized through Mikael Forssell only for Gabby Agbonlahor to clinch it with a late header for Villa, having cleared off his own line seconds before. Violent clashes took place outside the ground after the game in which over 20 police officers were hurt.[9][10] The derby on 20 April 2008 between the two sides ended in a 51 win for Aston Villa at Villa Park, the biggest winning margin for either side in a league match for 40 years. Villa continued their winning ways in the derby, when they won both of the meetings between the clubs in the 200910 Premier League season. The first took place on 13 September 2009 at St Andrew's, and ended 1-0 to Aston Villa, with Agbonlahor scoring the winner in the 85th minute. Villa then went onto beat Blues 1-0 at Villa Park thanks to a penalty from James Milner in the 82nd minute. This was the 3rd time in 4 derbies that Villa had scored the winning goal in the final 10 minutes of the game. Villa also possess the record of six straight wins from 1987–93, including five cup matches. This record was then achieved in the Premier League after Villa beat Blues 1-0 on 25 April 2010, setting a record of six straight league wins from 2005-10. The record was finally ended at the next derby match on 31 October 2010, which resulted in a 0-0 draw at Villa Park. The return match at St Andrew's also ended in a draw, with it finishing 1-1.

In those games in October and December 2010 where Aston Villa played Birmingham City, at Villa Park (Premier League, 31 October) and St Andrew's (League Cup, 1 December, which was the first mid-week game between the two sides since 2003) violence between the two sets of supporters and hooligan firms occurred, with many fans being arrested. In the first game, there were scenes of violence outside Villa Park and there were a small amount of arrests including a Birmingham City club chef.[11] In the second of the two games (and larger scale violence) after Blues had beaten Villa 2-1, Blues supporters came onto the pitch and confronted the visiting Villa fans, this resulted in flares, ripped out seats and other missiles being hurled by Villa fans into the Blues supporters, there were also flash points before and after the game including the attack on a Blues supporters pub by Villa hooligans, the events were described as a "warzone" by a supporter who attended the game.[12] Birmingham City were later fined £40,000 by the Football Association for failing to control their fans.[13]

On 10 April 2011, an episode of Police Academy UK, a TV show aired on BBC Three which documents overseas police officers' introduction to British crime and policing, was set in Birmingham and covered the violence that occurred at the game between Birmingham City and Aston Villa on 1 December 2010.[14]

On 17 June 2011, Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish swapped Blues for Villa in a move that shocked the football world.[15] The reaction from both sets of supporters was one of anger. Blues supporters were angry at McLeish, who guided them to only their second ever major trophy win in February 2011, for betraying them to join bitter rivals Villa, and Villa fans were un-happy with the appointment of a manager that had got Blues relegated twice in four seasons, and was perceived to play a negative style of football; that he came from Blues only served to rub salt into the wound of the board making such an unambitious and negative appointment.[16] Several hundred Villa supporters protested at Villa Park when it emerged that Villa owner Randy Lerner has begun talks with McLeish. McLeish received death threats from followers of both teams following his appointment as Aston Villa manager.[17] This controversial move only increased tension and hostility between the players, supporters and owners of both clubs even more as Blues directors threatened legal action against Villa for allegedly "tapping up" McLeish, who resigned as Blues manager on 12 June 2011, while he was still under contract at Birmingham City.[18] McLeish's appointment marked the first time in history that a manager had moved directly from Birmingham City to Aston Villa.[15] On 14 May 2012, one day after the 2011-12 Premier League season ended, McLeish was sacked as Villa manager after a massively disappointing one season in charge.[19]

Statistics and records

As of the end of the 201011 season, there have been 120 meetings in major competition between the two teams since the first FA Cup meeting in 1887, of which Aston Villa have won 52 and Birmingham City 38.[20] The most goals in one game were scored in a league game on 7 July 1895, in the First Division, as Small Heath lost to Aston Villa 73.[20][21] The biggest winning margin was 60 to Aston Villa on 9 November 1988, in a Full Members Cup fixture.[20][22] The last Birmingham City league victory over Aston Villa was on 20 March 2005, when Blues won 20 at St Andrew's. Villa won six encounters in a row, most recently on 25 April 2010 (2005–2010). The two teams drew for the first time in over six years in the next match (the first of three in the 2010-11 season), with the match finishing 0-0 (the other Premier League match of the season also finished as a draw). The second match of the season resulted in the first Blues win since 2005, as they beat Villa 2-1 in the 2010-11 League Cup Quarter Final on 1 December 2010.

All-time results

Aston Villa in the league at home

Date Venue Score Competition Attendance
1 September 1894 Wellington Road 21 First Division 20,000
7 September 1895 Wellington Road 73 First Division 13,000
26 December 1901 Villa Park 10 First Division 40,000
16 January 1904 Villa Park 11 First Division 20,000
29 October 1904 Villa Park 21 First Division 40,000
20 January 1906 Villa Park 13 First Division 40,000
15 September 1906 Villa Park 41 First Division 45,000
18 January 1908 Villa Park 23 First Division 39,500
11 March 1922 Villa Park 11 First Division 52,345
24 March 1923 Villa Park 30 First Division 40,000
1 September 1923 Villa Park 00 First Division 59,157
14 February 1925 Villa Park 10 First Division 60,000
17 October 1925 Villa Park 33 First Division 52,254
19 March 1927 Villa Park 24 First Division 49,334
17 March 1928 Villa Park 11 First Division 59,367
9 March 1929 Villa Park 12 First Division 56,528
31 August 1929 Villa Park 21 First Division 36,834
18 October 1930 Villa Park 11 First Division 55,482
21 November 1931 Villa Park 32 First Division 44,948
22 October 1932 Villa Park 10 First Division 52,191
14 April 1934 Villa Park 11 First Division 34,196
29 December 1934 Villa Park 22 First Division 40,785
28 March 1936 Villa Park 21 First Division 49,531
4 March 1939 Villa Park 51 First Division 40,874
4 December 1948 Villa Park 03 First Division 62,434
10 December 1949 Villa Park 11 First Division 45,008
5 September 1955 Villa Park 00 First Division 57,690
27 October 1956 Villa Park 31 First Division 54,927
21 December 1957 Villa Park 02 First Division 41,118
23 August 1958 Villa Park 11 First Division 55,198
22 October 1960 Villa Park 62 First Division 44,722
28 October 1961 Villa Park 13 First Division 49,532
16 March 1963 Villa Park 40 First Division 40,400
13 February 1964 Villa Park 03 First Division 25,797
12 April 1965 Villa Park 30 First Division 36,871
7 October 1967 Villa Park 24 Second Division 50,067
12 April 1969 Villa Park 10 Second Division 53,647
18 October 1969 Villa Park 00 Second Division 54,405
27 September 1975 Villa Park 21 First Division 53,782
18 September 1976 Villa Park 12 First Division 50,084
1 October 1977 Villa Park 01 First Division 45,436
3 March 1979 Villa Park 10 First Division 42,419
13 December 1980 Villa Park 30 First Division 41,101
26 September 1981 Villa Park 00 First Division 41,098
4 April 1983 Villa Park 10 First Division 40,897
15 October 1983 Villa Park 10 First Division 39,318
22 March 1986 Villa Park 03 First Division 26,294
22 August 1987 Villa Park 02 Second Division 30,870
3 March 2003 Villa Park 02 Premiership 42,606
22 February 2004 Villa Park 22 Premiership 40,061
12 December 2004 Villa Park 12 Premiership 42,606
16 April 2006 Villa Park 31 Premiership 40,158
20 April 2008 Villa Park 51 Premier League 42,584
25 April 2010 Villa Park 10 Premier League 42,584
31 October 2010 Villa Park 00 Premier League 40,688

Birmingham City in the league at home

Date Venue Score Competition Attendance
20 October 1894 Muntz Street 22 First Division 14,000
26 October 1895 Muntz Street 14 First Division 10,000
12 October 1901 Muntz Street 02 First Division 23,000
19 September 1903 Muntz Street 22 First Division 25,000
25 February 1905 Muntz Street 03 First Division 28,000
16 September 1905 Muntz Street 20 First Division 30,000
19 January 1907 St Andrew's 32 First Division 60,000
21 September 1907 St Andrew's 23 First Division 45,000
15 March 1922 St Andrew's 10 First Division 34,190
17 March 1923 St Andrew's 10 First Division 50,000
15 August 1923 St Andrew's 30 First Division 41,306
11 October 1924 St Andrew's 10 First Division 48,098
27 February 1926 St Andrew's 21 First Division 38,231
30 October 1926 St Andrew's 12 First Division 48,104
5 November 1927 St Andrew's 11 First Division 47,605
27 October 1928 St Andrew's 24 First Division 36,261
28 December 1929 St Andrew's 11 First Division 33,228
21 February 1931 St Andrew's 04 First Division 49,619
2 April 1932 St Andrew's 11 First Division 35,671
8 March 1933 St Andrew's 32 First Division 24,868
2 December 1933 St Andrew's 00 First Division 34,718
25 August 1934 St Andrew's 21 First Division 53,930
23 November 1935 St Andrew's 22 First Division 60,250
29 October 1938 St Andrew's 30 First Division 55,301
30 April 1949 St Andrew's 01 First Division 45,120
29 April 1950 St Andrew's 22 First Division 24,866
21 September 1955 St Andrew's 22 First Division 32,642
10 April 1957 St Andrew's 12 First Division 29,853
24 August 1957 St Andrew's 31 First Division 50,780
20 December 1958 St Andrew's 41 First Division 31,857
11 March 1961 St Andrew's 11 First Division 41,656
17 March 1962 St Andrew's 02 First Division 43,489
27 October 1962 St Andrew's 32 First Division 42,228
31 March 1964 St Andrew's 33 First Division 28,069
13 February 1965 St Andrew's 01 First Division 32,491
24 February 1968 St Andrew's 21 Second Division 45,283
21 September 1968 St Andrew's 40 Second Division 40,527
30 March 1970 St Andrew's 02 Second Division 41,696
3 April 1976 St Andrew's 32 First Division 46,251
10 May 1977 St Andrew's 21 First Division 43,721
25 February 1978 St Andrew's 10 First Division 33,679
3 March 1979 St Andrew's 01 First Division 36,145
11 October 1980 St Andrew's 12 First Division 33,879
20 February 1982 St Andrew's 01 First Division 32,817
27 December 1982 St Andrew's 30 First Division 43,864
31 March 1983 St Andrew's 21 First Division 23,993
7 September 1985 St Andrew's 00 First Division 24,971
12 December 1987 St Andrew's 12 Second Division 27,789
16 September 2002 St Andrew's 30 Premiership 29,505
19 October 2003 St Andrew's 00 Premiership 29,546
20 March 2005 St Andrew's 20 Premiership 29,382
16 October 2005 St Andrew's 01 Premier League 29,312
11 November 2007 St Andrew's 12 Premier League 26,539
13 September 2009 St Andrew's 01 Premier League 25,196
16 January 2011 St Andrew's 11 Premier League 22,287

Cup matches

Date Venue Home team Score Competition Round Attendance
5 November 1887 Wellington Road Aston Villa 40 FA Cup 2nd Round
23 March 1901 Muntz Street Small Heath 00 FA Cup Quarter Final
27 March 1901 Villa Park Aston Villa 10 FA Cup Quarter Final replay
23 May 1963 St Andrew's Birmingham City 31 League Cup Final 1st leg 31,850
27 May 1963 Villa Park Aston Villa 00 League Cup Final 2nd leg 37,921
27 September 1988 St Andrew's Birmingham City 02 League Cup 2nd Round 1st leg
12 October 1988 Villa Park Aston Villa 50 League Cup 2nd Round 2nd leg
9 November 1988 Villa Park Aston Villa 60 Full Members Cup 1st Round 8,324
21 September 1993 St Andrew's Birmingham City 01 League Cup 2nd Round 1st leg 27,815
6 October 1993 Villa Park Aston Villa 10 League Cup 2nd Round 2nd leg 35,856
1 December 2010 St Andrew's Birmingham City 21 League Cup Quarter Final 27,679
22 September 2015 Villa Park Aston Villa 10 League Cup 3nd Round 34,442

Summary of results

Stats correct as of 16 January 2011.

Aston Villa at home
AVFC Wins Draws BCFC Wins AVFC Goals BCFC Goals
League (1st Tier) 25 13 12 91 62
League (2nd Tier) 1 1 2 3 6
League (Total) 26 14 14 94 68
FA Cup 2 0 0 5 0
League Cup 2 1 0 6 0


Birmingham City at home
BCFC Wins Draws AVFC Wins BCFC Goals AVFC Goals
League (1st Tier) 20 13 16 74 66
League (2nd Tier) 2 0 2 7 5
League (Total) 22 13 18 81 71
FA Cup 0 1 0 0 0
League Cup 2 0 2 5 5


Total
AVFC Wins Draws BCFC Wins AVFC Goals BCFC Goals
League (1st Tier) 42 26 32 158 136
League (2nd Tier) 3 1 4 8 13
League (Total) 45 27 36 165 149
FA Cup 2 1 0 6 0
League Cup 4 1 2 11 5
All competitive games 52 29 38 183 154

Records

Firsts

Results

Players

Trends

Top scorers

The following is a list of the top goal scorers for each team in the fixture. Only players who have scored 4 or more goals feature.

Aston Villa

Player Goals
England Billy Walker 11
England Tom Waring 7
Scotland John Campbell 5
England John Devey 5
England Gabby Agbonlahor 4
England Eric Houghton 4
England Gerry Hitchens 4
Scotland Andy Gray 4

Birmingham City

Player Goals
England Joe Bradford 8
Scotland Johnny Crosbie 5
Wales Ken Leek 5
England Barry Bridges 4
England George Briggs 4
England Trevor Francis 4
England Arthur Mounteney 4

Crossing the divide

Players

Harry Hampton transferred from Villa to Blues in 1920.

Unlike, for example, the Old Firm derby, there is no shortage of players who have appeared for both clubs. Villa legend Harry Hampton transferred to Blues after the First World War and helped the club to the Second Division title. The last established first-team player to make this move was Des Bremner in 1984, though there had been loan signings and movement of youth players during this period. The most recent permanent transfer from Aston Villa to Birmingham City was that of Craig Gardner during the 2009-10 season. The last player to move directly in the other direction was Chris Sutton in 2006.[23][24]

Notable players who have been transferred directly between the clubs are listed below.

Aston Villa to Birmingham City

Name Pos Aston Villa Birmingham City
CareerAppsGoals CareerAppsGoals
Charlie Athersmith Winger 18911901 269 75 19011905 100 12
Walter Corbett Full Back 1907 19071911 48 0
Frederick Chapple Inside Forward 19061908 9 3 19081910 51 15
Harry Hampton Forward 19041920 341 215 19201922 57 31
Stan Lynn Right Back 19501961 281 36 19611966 131 26
Bobby Thomson Forward 19591963 140 56 19631967 114 23
Ron Wylie Inside Forward 19581965 196 16 19651970 128 2
John Sleeuwenhoek Centre Half 19611967 226 1 19671971 30 0
Noel Blake Defender 19791982 4 0 19821984 76 5
Robert Hopkins Winger 19791983 3 1 19831986 123 20
Des Bremner Midfielder 19781984 174 9 19841989 168 5
Liam Ridgewell Defender 20012007 79 7 20072012 139 9
Craig Gardner Midfielder 20052010 80 6 20102011 42 9
Curtis Davies Defender 20082011 37 2 20112013 89 11
Notes

Birmingham City to Aston Villa

Name Pos Birmingham City Aston Villa
CareerAppsGoals CareerAppsGoals
Geoff Vowden Forward 19641971 221 79 19711974 97 22
Alan Curbishley Midfielder 19791983 130 11 19831984 36 1
Chris Sutton* Striker 2006 10 1 20062007 8 1
Notes

Managers

Former Aston Villa Manager Ron Saunders, who managed Villa to League Cup success in 1975 and again in 1977 before taking the club to its first Championship success for 70 years in 1981, also moved across to Birmingham City following his resignation in 1982.

Alex McLeish's appointment as Aston Villa manager in June 2011 after resigning from Birmingham City five days before was the first time in history a manager has moved from Birmingham City to Aston Villa. The move shocked the football world and increased tension between the two clubs even more.[15]

Aston Villa to Birmingham City

Name Aston Villa Birmingham City
CareerHonours CareerHonours
England Ron Saunders 19741982 1974–75 League Cup
1976–77 League Cup
1980–81 First Division
19821986

Birmingham City to Aston Villa

Name Birmingham City Aston Villa
CareerHonours CareerHonours
Scotland Alex McLeish 20072011 2010–11 League Cup 20112012

Chairmen

Doug Ellis was a director of Birmingham City in the late 1960s before becoming part of a consortium which took over at Aston Villa in 1968.

See also

References

  1. The Second City derby, footballderbies.com. Retrieved 11 February 2007
  2. Matthews, Tony (October 2000). "Aston Villa". The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875–2000. Cradley Heath: Britespot. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-9539288-0-4.
  3. Lewis, Peter, ed. (2000). Keeping right on since 1875. The Official History of Birmingham City Football Club. Lytham: Arrow. p. 9. ISBN 1-900722-12-7.
  4. "The Week's Gossip". Sporting Mail. 22 December 1906. p. 1. It was not until 1879 that the Alliance first met Aston Villa, and present-day supporters may be glad to be reminded that the encounter ended in a victory for Small Heath.
  5. Jawad, Hyder (March 2005). Strange Magic: Birmingham City v Aston Villa. Birmingham Post. p. 19.
  6. Jawad, Strange Magic, p. 82.
  7. Matthews, Tony (October 2000). The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875–2000. Cradley Heath: Britespot. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-9539288-0-4.
  8. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  9. "Police hurt as fans clash". expressandstar. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
  10. "Officers hurt in football trouble". BBC. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
  11. "Birmingham v Aston Villa fan violence 'like a warzone'". BBC News. 2 December 2010.
  12. "Birmingham fined for Carling Cup pitch invasion". BBC News. 29 March 2011.
  13. 1 2 3 "McLeish appointed Villa manager". BBC News. 17 June 2011.
  14. James, Stuart (25 April 2012). "Aston Villa fans were right: Alex McLeish and club do not go together". The Guardian (London).
  15. "Lay off McLeish, says Agbonlahor". BBC News. 18 June 2011.
  16. "Birmingham pursue McLeish claim". BBC News. 17 June 2011.
  17. "Alex McLeish sacked as Aston Villa manager". BBC News. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  18. 1 2 3 "All time results between Aston Villa and Birmingham City". Soccerbase. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
  19. "Villa, B'ham 7-9-1895". soccerbase. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
  20. "Villa,B'ham 1988". statto. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  21. Neil Brown. "Aston Villa: 1946/47 - 2006/07". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
  22. Neil Brown. "Birmingham City: 1946/47 - 2006/07". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
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